The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: northfifeduckling on June 23, 2011, 04:46:39 pm

Title: not pollinated beans
Post by: northfifeduckling on June 23, 2011, 04:46:39 pm
the flowers of my broad beans just dry up unpollinated and fall off  :'(. where are the bees??? Aanyone else has the same problem?? :&>
Title: Re: not pollinated beans
Post by: Greenerlife on June 23, 2011, 09:14:56 pm
Yes.  Definitely why mine have no flowers - because it has been so dry for so long.  I wrote in the beekeeping section that my county bee association wrote instructing us all to feed the bees because they were starving because no water means no nectar.

My second lotof broad beans have loads of flowers now though because its been doing nothing but pee down for the last couple of weeks!  makes so much difference.
Title: Re: not pollinated beans
Post by: egglady on June 23, 2011, 09:50:26 pm
Kerstin, mine have beans on them.  I've grown the sutton this year so not sure if that made a difference..and of course having  7 hives in the village probably makes a difference too....though you're not more than 5 miles away from us and apparently bees will fly that far if they have to....i wonder if it's cos they had so much choice with all the oil seed rape fields round and about?

have to say i'm a bit more tense about the impending blight.....more than 10 degrees and very wet.......yup!!!
Title: Re: not pollinated beans
Post by: northfifeduckling on June 23, 2011, 10:18:40 pm
I'll keep an eye, beans and potatoes are flowering happily.  Btw, I have blight on the rogue tatties. The regulars recovered the other week when I pricked the offending leaves off.
I think I've seen one honeybee this year, but plenty of bumbles about... :wave:
Title: Re: not pollinated beans
Post by: egglady on June 23, 2011, 10:20:11 pm
and 5 million wasps!!!!  which have taken over my newest hive as it was still small :(  couldnt even get anywhere near the veggie plot for 2 days last week
Title: Re: not pollinated beans
Post by: Llandovery Lass on June 24, 2011, 05:47:58 pm
Mine have been flowering for weeks and no sign of a set, the peas next to them are having their first pick tomorrow. My OH keeps bees so that shouldn't be the problem. It happened last year too but I had them in the polytunnel and decided the bees hadn't found them, the later flowers set but what is happening?